The Urban Dimension of Climate Change: lessons from the Commonwealth

The Commonwealth nations are home to 2.4 billion people and are bound together by a common intent in advancing democracy and human rights, addressing Climate Change and promoting sustainable development. The role that better coordinated Climate Change urban planning policies in the Commonwealth can have in meeting the objectives set by COP21, achieving the SDGs and implementing the NUA, is enormous.

The event will present a series of examples of outcome-oriented planning actions in Commonwealth nations with two main objectives:

• Pave the way for a stronger cooperation on Climate Change planning policies across the Commonwealth, including exchange of planning knowledge.

• Try to influence the Commonwealth Governments' agendas so that the urban dimension of Climate Change is put at the forefront of national policies and made a focus of international cooperation.

The Royal Town Planning Institute will chair the session and bring its experience in providing local authorities with guidance on planning for Climate Change. The session will feature presentations on Climate Change urban planning policies and explore how these can be integrated and eventually scaled up:

• John Acres, President of Royal Town Planning Institute, Chair

• Eleanor Mohammed, President of Canadian Institute of Planners, Municipal Climate Change Adaptation Plans, with case study from the Nunavut.

• Prof. Barbara Norman, University of Canberra, Australia, Sustainable Pathways for Our Cities and Regions, case studies on Canberra and Kuala Lumpur.

• Noraida Saludin, Vice President of Malaysia Institute of Planners, Commonwealth Association of Planners, Malaysian Low Carbon City Framework (LCCF).

• Prof. Peter Head, Ecological Sequestration Trust, research on a tentative Roadmap to the Agenda 2030 in the Commonwealth aiming to roll out a scalable policy demonstration for each country.